Tag Archives: Unfiltered Beer

We occasionally get inquiries about the “lees” (sediment) that sometimes appears in IPA bottles. “What is it and why is it there?” people want to know. It is a combination of malt proteins, hop tannins & yeast, which occur naturally in a dry-hopped, unfiltered beer such as Smuttynose IPA.

Because many mass-produced beers are subjected to filtration – mostly for aesthetic reasons – many people have grown accustomed to crystal-clear beers. Breweries, like Smuttynose, could make a beer that is pretty and bright by processing it that way, but they believe that would sacrifice flavor.